New book traces the origins of baseball’s All-Star Game to a Boston event more than a century ago

Baseball’s annual All-Star Game, which features the sport’s top players, is headed to Philadelphia, where fans will watch the league’s best showcase their talents on the field. A new book, “One Day in September,” examines a lesser-known chapter in that tradition, tracing the game’s origins back to an event in Boston more than a century ago.

In a recent interview for PBS NewsHour’s arts and culture series CANVAS, correspondent Jeffrey Brown spoke with author Scott Reich about the book’s central premise: that the modern All-Star Game’s roots are not as straightforward as many fans might assume. Reich’s account frames the All-Star Game as the product of earlier efforts to organize star baseball into a special public event.

The interview highlights that while today’s game is associated with MLB’s summer showcase and the presence of celebrated players, the story of how the event came to be reflects broader moments in baseball history, including how communities and league stakeholders approached the idea of bringing top talent together for a single event.

Reich’s book focuses on what he describes as a “little-known chapter” in baseball history, centered on September and a Boston gathering that preceded the eventual emergence of the modern All-Star format. The program presentation connects the historical research to the present, with the Philadelphia All-Star Game serving as a contemporary entry point for readers who may not know the event’s earlier backstory.

By placing the All-Star Game’s origin story in context, “One Day in September” aims to show that the event’s popularity and cultural visibility were built over time. Reich’s discussion in the CANVAS segment treats the All-Star Game not just as a season highlight, but as the end point of a long process involving baseball’s institutions and the public-facing role of major sports.

The PBS NewsHour segment indicates that “One Day in September” is part of a broader arts and culture conversation around how historical events become embedded in modern traditions. For baseball fans following the All-Star festivities in Philadelphia, the book offers a way to understand how the league’s marquee summer event was shaped long before contemporary roster selection and broadcast-era framing.

With the MLB All-Star Game underway in Philadelphia, the book’s release adds a parallel narrative to the on-field action, drawing attention to the sport’s archival record and the human decisions behind long-running public spectacles. For readers, the next step is to follow Reich’s account beyond the modern game and into the earlier Boston episode the book identifies as foundational.